In this episode of Founders, Future, with host Mishal Saeed, Jillian Ferry and Anh Lee, co-founders of DME Onboarding, share their mission to bridge the gap between education and the workforce by equipping young professionals with the "unwritten rules" of corporate success. Drawing from their combined 35+ years in HR and corporate learning, they reveal how their dual offerings—the "Durable Me" self-awareness deck and "Durable Success" course—empower students with essential soft skills like resilience, leadership, and workplace navigation that schools don’t teach. The founders discuss the urgent need for their solutions in a job market where Gen Z struggles with toxic workplaces, unclear expectations, and multi-generational dynamics.

Jillian and Anh unpack their grassroots growth strategy, from LinkedIn outreach to beta-testing with students, while candidly sharing the challenges of bootstrapping a purpose-driven startup. They envision scaling through corporate partnerships, reimagining onboarding for businesses, and ultimately creating systemic change in how organizations develop talent. The conversation highlights their unique founder dynamic—balancing Anh’s research-backed frameworks with Jillian’s operational grit—and their commitment to ensuring no young professional enters the workforce unprepared again.